Bree Fram, the former Space Force colonel recently ousted from the military following an executive order from President Donald Trump, announced Tuesday a run for Congress.
Fram launched a campaign for a Northern Virginia House seat, taking on a fellow Democrat.
The former colonel had been placed on administrative leave in compliance with a directive signed one week into President Trump’s second term, which effectively barred transgender service members. The order stated that “a man’s assertion that he is a woman… is not consistent with the humility and selflessness required of a service member.”
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Now, the former colonel is pivoting from national defense to a primary battle, seeking to unseat incumbent Democratic Rep. James Walkinshaw in Virginia’s June Democratic primary.
“Donald Trump fired me not for my performance but because of who I am,” Fram said in a campaign video released across social media platforms Tuesday.
In the clip, Fram emphasized that the removal was strictly political.
“I am not running on identity,” said Fram, who was the highest-ranking transgender official in the Department of Defense at the time of the order. “I’m running on a platform that is about service and character, one that is about protecting strong democracy, including our basic rights particularly freedom of speech, freedom of assembly that are so under threat right now.”
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The platform appears centered on civil liberties and national unity.
Fram noted that the experience of being pushed out of the armed forces is what compelled the decision to run. “My experience of being pushed out is driving me to fight for an America that protects everyone’s dignity,” Fram said. “Every child out there should know that they are safe, seen, and celebrated.”
If successful in both the primary and the general election, Fram would become the second transgender member of Congress. The candidate follows Democratic Rep. Sarah McBride of Delaware, who became the first transgender House lawmaker after taking office in January 2025.
The race for the Northern Virginia seat is expected to heat up as the June primary approaches, testing whether Fram’s message of “service and character” can resonate with voters in a district currently held by a fellow Democrat.
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